Moved from hourly to flat rates by unit type. The PM gave me 12 a month.

I'd been billing turnovers at $38 an hour for a property manager with about 90 doors. She liked me fine but I was one of four cleaners she used, and I was getting maybe 3 units a month.

The problem from her side was she couldn't budget. Every invoice was a surprise and she had to explain them to owners one at a time.

So in September I gave her flat rates. $185 for a one bed, $240 for a two bed, $310 for a three bed. Add-ons priced separately: interior of appliances $45, refrigerator pull and clean behind $35, blinds $6 each, exterior windows $4 each.

My actual times over the last three months, two cleaners: one bed averages 2.4 hours, two bed 3.2, three bed 4.1. At $22 an hour loaded that's $141 of labor on a two bed against $240, plus about $14 of supplies. Not a fortune per unit, and it's dependable.

She moved me to 12 units a month, sometimes 14, because now she can quote her owners a number before the unit is even vacant.

What nearly broke it: a heavy smoker unit in October that took two people 9 hours. I ate it, then went back and added a condition tier. Now if the walkthrough photos show smoke staining, pet damage or a hoarding situation, it comes out of the flat rate and gets bid as a job. She agreed to that without argument because she'd rather know in advance too.

What I'd keep: the 48 hour scheduling window. She tells me the day, I pick the time. That flexibility is most of why she uses me.

5 replies

2tonyv88SO4CPRO6

This is exactly right and I wish more cleaners understood it. I'm not optimizing for the lowest price. I'm optimizing for an invoice I can put in front of an owner without a phone call. The condition tier is what makes the flat rate survivable for both of us, and the photo trigger means we're arguing about the photos rather than about you.

2nataliehsuSO1BPRO7

What counts as smoke staining though? That feels like it could get subjective fast.

2derekj19SB1B

Your two bed is $240 with $155 of labor and supplies, so $85 of contribution on 3.2 hours. Twelve units a month across a mix is maybe $950 to $1,100 of contribution. What's your fixed monthly cost, and how many PMs like this one do you need before the business supports you rather than supplementing you?

1monica_tran3SF4CPRO6

The 9 hour smoker unit is the one I'd look at hardest. You ate it once and got a rule out of it, which is the right trade. But check whether the rule actually gets applied, because in my experience the walkthrough photos come in dark and blurry and by the time you're standing in the unit the schedule is already committed. I put a line in that says if the condition is outside the flat rate, my crew stops and I call, and I've had to actually stop twice.

2ryanmck27SC2C

Did you have to change your insurance when you moved to occupied-adjacent work like this, or were you already covered for it?

Moved from hourly to flat rates by unit type. The PM gave me 12 a month.

5 replies